Pondo sa Pagbabago
at Pag-asenso (P3) to go nationwide
By
DTI-ROG
May 31, 2017
MAKATI CITY – Micro
entrepreneurs around the country will now have access to cheap and
easy credit as the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) will now be
made available nationwide on May 31, 2017.
DTI Undersecretary for
Regional Operations Zenaida Maglaya said the administration’s
brainchild of micro-finance facility encourages micro entrepreneurs to
borrow money from P3 that will help them finance their businesses.
“P3 is intended to help the
underprivileged Filipino entrepreneurs who want to grow their
businesses. With this program, they can access cheap and easy credit
without any hassle. After filling out a half-page application and
presenting necessary documents, the money can be released within the
day,” Maglaya explained.
With sufficient funds to
provide to borrowers, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and
its micro-financing arm Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) will lead
the implementation that will assist micro entrepreneurs financially
and enable them to grow their businesses.
Being the administration’s
program to provide an affordable micro-financing for the country’s
micro entrepreneurs, the P3 funding program provides micro enterprises
an alternative source of financing that is easy to access and made
available at a cheapest cost.
“After we’ve launched the P3
in Tacloban, Occidental Mindoro, and Sarangani in January 2017, P3 is
now going nationwide. We hope this will encourage micro entrepreneurs
to patronize the government’s program so we can eliminate loan
sharks,” Maglaya said.
National conduits and local
Micro-financing Institutions (MFIs) have already been accredited by
the SB Corp to assist in distributing the funds to micro
entrepreneurs. The national level conduits are Radiowealth Finance
Company (RFC), Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI), and Mindanao Alliance
of Self-Help Societies – Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative
Center (MASS-SPECC).
Meanwhile, 18 local (MFIs)
are accredited in Luzon, 6 in Visayas and 3 in Mindanao. A total of
P104.9 million have been released to P3 conduits as of today (May 31,
2017).
The Pondo sa Pagbabago at
Pag-asenso (P3) is a P1 billion financing program intended to give
MSMEs better access to finance, and to reduce their cost of borrowing.
The fund will also give priority to the country’s 30 poorest
provinces.
Following President Rodrigo
Duterte’s directive to replace the “5-6” money lending system, the P3
is also seen to help stabilize supply and cost of commodities in
public markets, encourage small entrepreneurs to grow their
businesses, eliminate loan sharks, and offer employment and generate
income for Filipinos.
The P1 billion fund of the
P3 program from the Office of the President will be coursed through
the SB Corp. with accredited partner institutions such as non-bank
MFIs, cooperatives, and associations to serve as conduit for the P3
funds. With borrowers identified through these, collection of
repayments will be efficient.
The P3 Program was launched
in Tacloban in Leyte on January 25, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on
January 27, and Alabel, Sarangani last January 30. A total of P7.7
million have been released to individual borrowers in these pilot
areas: P3.5 million in Mindoro, P2.2million in Sarangani, and P1.8
million in Leyte.
The primary beneficiaries of
the P3 Program are micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs that do not
have easy access to credit. These include market vendors, agri-businessmen
and members of cooperatives, and industry associations.
P3 will also make it easy
for borrowers since it will only require minimal documentation
requirement; easy to access with only one (1) day processing of
application; low cost interest at 2.5% per month; and easy payment
with collection on a weekly or daily basis, as necessary.
Loan amounts to
end-borrowers range between P5,000 and P100,000, with no collateral
requirement.